The Ides of March
by InzanityFirez
Summary: The Avengers have gone their separate ways for the time being in lieu of an actual threat. Tony and Bruce are trying out a partnership, Steve is exploring his new world, Thor is trying to save Loki from execution, and Natasha and Clint are back in the game. But with the Winter Soldier gunning for Steve and Thanos gunning for the Universe, the Avengers will be reunited again.


**All right...this is gonna be...wow, this is a challenge. There's so much canon and non-canon and different personalities and villains and...so much verse to cover. But I'm going to do my best! Some of it's canon from the movies, some from the comics, and some's not gonna be canon at all but I'll try to make it all interesting. Expect [possibly highly involved] cameos from Wolverine, [Gambit?], Sherlock Holmes and Watson, and...more? There is a vague possibility that if you request the appearance of a certain character, I'll get them in for you. If I can. Possibly to become a larger part of the story depending on how much I know about them and like them. XD I digress, enjoy! Oh, and also, I'm gonna be honest. I'm not hip to what Thanos is all about, so while I'm using him as a villain, don't expect uber-canon from him. Fair warning. **

**~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~**

_Silverton, Rhode Island._

"_Tony Stark, or should I say Ironman, took some time today to show that while he may wear a tin suit, he doesn't have a tin heart. The opening of the Stafford-Rose Orphange was marked by a ceremonious ribbon-cutting done by the one whose donations made it all possible-_"

Click.

"_What's the most popular toy this year? Aside from a string of action figures resembling 'Earth's mightiest heroes', it seems the green-giant seen saving the city in the aftermath of the alien attack has made for the next generation of must-have toys. 'Hulk' gloves along with-"_

Click.

"_Yet another feat of heroism by America's golden son saved nearly a hundred people today when an explosion rocked a small chemical plant outside of Honoria, Michigan. Using his extraordinairy powers, Captain America was able to-_"

Click.

"_Extraterrestrial hunks, the new 'Hollywood's Most Desirable'. Thor may be gone, but his golden locks and lightning-struck legacy have left an indelible mark-"_

Click.

"_Zhalkiy_..." The television had finally faded to black as the viewer moved from the source of his distraction to his crudely scrawled notes. All things considered, he had gotten the easiest target. The one who was currently roaming the streets in the open, the one who was naive and unused to the future he'd been thrust into, the one who was powerful but hopelessly altruistic. The Winter Soldier had been ordered to terminate Steve Rogers, also known as Captain America.

_It's almost too easy_...

**~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~**

_Stark Tower_

"Just do it."

"No."

"I'm serious, just do it."

"No!"

"Not to be cliche here, but you can't knock it till you try it."

"No, absolutely not. There is no way."

"Uh, actually, there is a way. My way. The only way that matters. And 'my way' says 'do it'."

"I'm not going to do it!"

"What's it going to hurt? I mean really, when was the last time you've _actually_-"

"-We are not talking about thi-"

"-Like...four years...five? Or-"

"-Enough!"

"_Eight_?"

"I said _enough_!" A flash of green overtook Bruce Banner's irises and the man took a quick step back as he struggled to calm himself. The anger wasn't much, and he knew better, but Tony Stark knew _exactly _how to push his buttons. _Every damn one._ And he knew that was at least half of Tony's motivation any time he did something like this, baiting him, trying to get a rise out of him. Tony was undoubtedly one of the strangest, most irritating men that he had ever met and that was saying something coming from him. But he was also a genius and one of the few people who treated Bruce like a person and not a monster or a lab experiment. Granted, Tony's idea of treating someone like a person was nothing like how a normal person would treat someone but...Bruce had gotten used to it. Sort of.

Tony, instead of seeming disturbed by the near possibility of Bruce 'hulking' out and crushing his puny human form [possibly to do with Hulk's protective streak a few months prior when he'd taken a sky-dive], just smirked faintly. "Twins, Jolly, they're _twins_."

Bruce grimaced at that as he eyed his friend, still not overly fond of Tony's delight at referring to him as the 'jolly green giant'. "Then it doubles the possibility for danger. The answer is no, it's not worth the risk."

"Right. Missing potentially the best night of your life because you might rip your pants is definitely a necessary precaution." Tony quipped solemnly.

The trouble had started when Tony had convinced Bruce, still partially incognito, to attend a soiree of sorts with him. Two very rich, very eager, very extremely hot attendees [_twins!_] had in no uncertain terms made clear their lascivious intentions towards Bruce and hinted less-than-subtly that they were definitely okay with sharing. But aside from Bruce's general tendency to avoid being close to people and forming relationships, and the fact that his heart really did belong to someone else, there was the possibility that too much excitement could bring out his other half. And that was dangerous on all levels.

"You know it's more than that." Bruce muttered as he ran his hand through his hair and looked away. And then he frowned as he glanced back at Tony. "What do you care anyway? If you like them so much, _you_ visit them."

"Sorry, they made it clear you're the only exotic dish they're interested in sampling. Besides, Pepper would kill me. In really painful ways and many times over so, y'know, being that I enjoy life and the world would be lost without me..." Tony trailed off with a meaningful shrug, to which Bruce rolled his eyes.

Bruce hadn't known what quite to expect when he'd stepped into Tony's car after seeing Thor off, after Tony had given him the invitation to be his 'sidekick' [or partner, if one read between the lines which Bruce did]. Whatever man he'd been before the Hulk had awakened, it had no longer mattered. Bruce was used to living alone, he was used to long hours of lonely silence and useless contemplation, he was used to rejecting all attempts made to form a relationship. But here was something new, someone who needed _Bruce_ and accepted the Hulk. Tony didn't judge him, didn't use him, and treated him like an equal. And unlike most people, Tony wasn't going to break easily. Under the right cirumstances, he could even hold his own against the Hulk...if only for a while.

"And if I tell Pepper what you're trying to coax me into?" Bruce let his lips curve into a small smirk of his own as he teased the other a bit, testament to how much he'd actually bonded with the other man despite his reservations. Also, Pepper had alluded to making Tony's life a special brand of miserable if he 'picked on' Bruce. He'd gotten decidedly fond of the woman.

Then it was Tony's turn to grimace. "That's fighting dirty."

"I learned from the best."

At that, Tony seemed smug again as he sniffed with his own self-importance and began to busy himself with the nearest hologram computer interface. "Well, can't argue with that logic." His eyes were fixated on the screen as a brief silence descended before he spoke again, and while he attempted to sound casual, his voice was a little more gentle. "I could pump you fill of enough sedatives to knock out a small elephant." he offered.

Bruce relaxed then, because he knew the argument was over, and he appreciated Tony's attempt. He'd gone about it in the most irksome way possible, and Tony would never admit it, but Bruce knew that he'd been pushing Bruce out of concern and friendship. "And sleep through the 'best night of my life'? No thanks. At least let me have the untainted fantasy."

Tony eyed the other man for a moment before he gave a short shrug. "Alright then, back to work. You got the sequences?"

Bruce, still fascinated by the concept, pulled up the aforementioned sequences on the holographic screen in front of him. "They're up. If this works then..."

"Then we make a trial serum and get you loaded up." Tony said as he began a rapid bit of typing. Jokes aside, Tony and Bruce had begun work on a serum to deal with Bruce's alter ego. A cure was a long ways off, even with Tony's assistance, there were too many variables including the ever-temperamental gamma radiation factor. But based off of a theory of Tony's and Bruce's own testing, they'd combined their knowledge and formed a new plan. They couldn't cure the Hulk, but they could possibly supress him and ensure that Bruce was able to remain in control of himself. Sort of like a sedative with the Hulk's genetic code written all over it.

Bruce glanced over at the other man and although he knew that Tony was far from the sentimental type, he couldn't help it. "Thank you, Tony, for everything...I really-"

"-Start coding this one, and then we'll finish the measurement equations." Tony interrupted as though Bruce hadn't spoken at all.

Bruce fought a sigh but smiled lightly anyway. He'd made a friend and partner, and possibly found a way to gain a foothold into normalcy in his life, and even the Avengers were a bright spot, and all things considered...his life was the best it had been in a long time.

**~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~**

_Asgard_

The hall was silent, filled only with Thor and his most trusted allies, the Queen Frigga, and the All-Father himself. The more public exhibition had taken place days earlier when Thor had arrived with a bound Loki in tow. At present, Loki was under lock-down in prison chambers which had been firmly bespelled against his use of powers and although his muzzle had been removed, in all that time and despite Thor's attempts, Loki had not spoken a single word. And that was the most disconcerting of all, for never had Loki fallen so silent. That was not his way, and whether it was for sheer loathing and spite, or because something had been broken inside of him, or even some plot, Thor was not sure.

"There are many who call for Loki's death." Odin said solemnly. They had spoken lightly of their topic till that point, banter about his misdeeds and the consequences, but he knew it needed to be said. And while Frigga and the others could stand to remain silent to listen to Odin, Thor had little patience for the task.

"Then they call wrongly!" Thor exclaimed. "Loki's crimes are...severe. But he does not deserve to lose his life."

"How many Midgardians, so cherished of you, lost their lives because of Loki? All of whom likely did not deserve death either. Why then should Loki be spared?" There was no judgment in Odin's tone, he merely pointed out the fact.

Thor winced internally at those words, he could not deny them. But even so, he could not in any circumstance call for his brother's life to be taken. And no matter what that stubborn trickster said, Thor and Loki were and would always be brothers. "I grieve for them, and I believe that Loki must pay the price for what he's done. But not with his life! Would you sentence your own son to death?"

Odin sighed, and it was a heavy thing, full of the tiredness of centuries and all of the sorrow that came with it. "Were it within my power, none of this would have come to pass. Loki would be owed no punishment, and you would not stand before me looking as though I have betrayed you, my son. But this is not the case. Loki has committed terrible crimes, the extent of which we are still not fully aware." Odin knew that Loki had answered to a master and made a deal for his use of the Chitauri, but who the master was and what the full deal may have been, he was uncertain. But true enough, Loki had betrayed Asgard, slaughtered the Jotuun king [and though it saved Odin, the event was still of Loki's design to begin with], slaughtered many of Midgard and allied with monstrous beings, and attempted to murder his own brother. The crimes against him were varied and each alone could merit death as penance, but all crimes together...some would argue that even death would not be enough to atone. Furthermore, Loki refused to speak, even to name his co-conspirators and warn of the possibility of future threats. If he cared nothing for the sake of his family and Asgard, and even himself, then he was a dangerous liabilty, son or not. Odin looked to Frigga. "What say you, wife?"

Frigga's eyes matched Odin's sigh for sorrow as she gazed over those in the room before she regarded Odin. "As a mother, the mention of taking Loki's life could cease the beating of my heart. As a queen...I cannot deny that his crimes are...great. It would not be unfair to call for his life..."

"Mother!" Thor had been certain that she would be on his side, but his protest fell silent as she raised a hand and continued, much to Thor's relief.

"However...if a suitable penance could be given which kept his life intact...that would be in fairness also, I believe."

Odin considered his wife's counsel before he turned to Thor's companions, Sif and the Warriors Three. They would not have typically been part of such a discussion, but for their closeness to Thor and Loki, and all that had transpired. "And you all?"

Sif had always had reason enough to mistrust Loki, but she could never have said that she hated him or believed him capable of the crimes that he had committed. Part of her agreed that Loki could not be allowed to live, but the part loyal to herself and to Thor knew that such a thing as Loki's execution was vile and impossible. "Loki's life should be spared, if only for the argument that death would not correct his wrongs and he would be better served through alternative penance. For the many wrongs he has done, Loki has done well for the kingdom also." Thor and the warriors owed their life to Loki on several occasions, and he had fought by their side to defend Asgard. While Loki's loyalty was flighty, she believed that at his core, Asgard and it's people meant something to him.

Volstagg considered the question and her input before he nodded slowly. "True enough, death seems harsh for the lad. But if he isn't killed, what's a punishment that could match what he's done? Might be worse than death for him whatever that was."

Fandral and Hogun exchanged a glance before Fandral spoke. "I side with them in not taking Loki's life. But I also think that Volstagg's right. The punishment to avoid that punishment might be worse in the end."

"So you would have my brother die to spare him the pain?" Thor saw no logic in his reasoning.

"Take his freedom, his powers, his voice...isn't that equivalent? Take everything that matters to him, but leave him his life. That's equatable for what he's done. And then he will spend the rest of his withering life hating you all, and being dead in all but body." Hogun, generally rare of words, spoke grimly.

A moment of silence past in consideration of that before Thor spoke again as he looked back at Odin. "There must be something...We know Loki best, and are closest to all that's happened. He is no great evil, and not truly a traitor to Asgard. If he could but be made to remember-"

"-The content's of his heart do not overrule the gravity of his actions." Odin interrupted. "But I find this counsel not wrong either. Perhaps to let Loki live and learn from his errors would be the best course. And yet it remains: what punishment is equatable justice for the lives he has taken and betrayed? As Hogun says, the punishment may be worse for Loki-"

"-You will have him die dishonorably, executed and cast aside like a-"

"Thor-"

"Loki does not-"

"Enough!" Odin's voice rumbled in the hall. Thor fell silent at that as Odin regarded those in the room before he rose. "I will take ten days to decide this matter."

"Father-"

Odin held up a hand. "Ten days, Thor. The decision will be mine, and I expect you to uphold that decision, whatever it may be."

"His life-"

"_Thor_." Odin's voice brooked no further argument. "I will decide. Await my decision until then." With that, he turned to leave with Frigga at his side, a small attempt to dissuade Thor from further argument.

"He's your son." Thor reminded him stubbornly.

Odin paused before he inclined his head. "And I am the one who made him thus." Odin took his leave then, and Thor could not decide if Odin referred to making Loki the way he was, or to making him his son. He left, and Thor felt as if hope had left with him. If Odin was not firmly on their side then Loki would be doomed. Thor had to do something, anything, but what? Thor looked over and saw that Sif awaited to speak with him, but he shook his head. "Later." he murmured, and she understood, as did his men. They always understood. This was _Loki_ that they were talking about here.

Thor found his way to the prison chambers. They were accomodations fit for prisoners who were not so lowly as to be bound in the dungeons. Comfortable, but not luxurious, although Loki had been granted some measures of extra privacy and care than might be afforded another. The room kept him inside and his powers bound, mortal for all intents and purposes. But absent a means to look inside short of entering, it was Odin's knowledge and the fact that the food kept being eaten that reassured them that Loki was still inside. As previously stated, Loki had not spoken a word.

But that did not stop Thor from speaking to him.

"Brother..." Was it stubbornness or sheer hope that kept him addressing Loki as such? "Greetings." he tried. But after a long moment's silence, no answer came and he forged ahead and got straight to the point. "Father held counsel. He will wait ten days before he comes to a decision." But there was no need what decision was to be debated. "But whatever he decides...you will not have to worry, I will protect you."

Silence.

Thor sighed as he ran his fingers over the wooden door. He was torn between the desire to go to his brother's side, and to be firm with him as was needed. Thor had tried to reach Loki despite everything and he'd wound up with a blade in his gut for his troubles. Odin was right, Loki needed to be punished, but he could not allow it to take his brother's life from him, or to take Loki from Thor. "In such times your counsel would be most welcome, brother. But you cannot advise on your own punishment." Silence remained at those words and with a sigh, Thor pulled from the door. He was silent a moment, and he found himself hoping to hear even a stirring from inside, but there was not a sound. "Loki..." Thor felt the grainy wood beneath his fingers a moment more before he reluctantly pulled away. "Would that you could know how much your silence pains me." But he had no such method, and he was out of time. The day and what it required of him were not yet over. "I will return." he promised, before he took his leave.

~.~.~.~

Loki lay upon his bed as he stared at his ceiling, uncertain of whether it was boredom or outrage that most disturbed him in the confines of his small prison. His powers had been robbed of him, his voice shamed, and he himself had lost everything. Loki's chance for greatness had been stripped from him, and he knew what would come next.

"_Brother...Greetings..._"

Loki groaned inwardly as he heard that oaf at his door. Again Thor had come to disturb his bitter rest with his unwelcome foolishness. His declarations of love and guilt that twisted Loki's heart.

"_Father held counsel. He will wait ten days before he comes to a decision._"

Ten days? How very generous of the old man.

"_But whatever he decides, you will not have to worry, I will protect you." _

Loki was no fool, he knew what implication lay in those words. Loki knew without a doubt that his life had been called for, how could it possibly have not been? And he knew what the All-Father would choose. Loki was the bastardized son of the Jotuun, adopted by Odin only to act as a pawn in later pursuits. His one satisfaction in death would be that he had thwarted Odin, since he had never lived to be truly useful to Odin, other than perhaps in keeping his fool-son alive. Loki would die no matter what protests Thor made, and in the end, Thor would continue on with his hopeless existence and forget that he had ever claimed a filthy frost-giant for a brother. He would forget the 'loyalty' and 'love' born of pity and a need for self-vindication and satisfaction. Thor would forget his precious shadow. And this was all if the 'master' that he had failed didn't get to him first.

"I_n such times your counsel would be most welcome, brother. But you cannot advise on your own punishment._"

Loki scoffed. Would be 'welcome'? With each word his would-be brother spoke, he seemed only more the fool.

"_Loki_..." Thor's voice had softened then, almost a plea somehow, and Loki frowned as he cast his gaze towards his side of the door. "_Would that you could know how much your silence pains me...I will return_."

_Don't bother._ Loki thought, and he ignored the faint clench in his chest at those words and at the sound of his brother's footsteps as he left Loki to his isolated prison. Pain he said. As if Thor knew anything of pain... No good would come of Thor's visits, neither to himself, nor to Loki. Even so, Thor's words replayed in his mind as always, every nuance of his voice and change in inflection. And then something occurred to him.

"_But you cannot advise on your own punishment_."

Loki's eyes widened as a sudden possibility found itself way to becoming an idea and realization in Loki's mind. The idea was far-fetched, only barely feasible if at all, but if it could work...then perhaps Loki would not need the satisfaction of thwarting Odin in death, perhaps he could do so in life.

_Sometimes even a fool may be a wise man_. Thor had given Loki quite an idea indeed.

**~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~**

Nick Fury was having a rough day. No, scratch that, a rough week, month, year, life. Whichever worked. Bad enough that he'd been roping in Avengers left and right and trying to keep a cap on the public know-how, but then that psychopath Loki had come in and decimated...well, everything. The secret about their weapons was partially out, S.H.I.E.L.D was in a bit of shambles, and to top it off, something big was underfoot. Now what that something was, Nick wasn't sure, but the latest intel had had mentioned of freak weather conditions, mysterious disappearances of high-profile persons, and an uprising of some kind from a very special minority group. _ Mutants_. As if the Avengers weren't high-maintenance enough. The tessaract was gone, along with all the potential and danger it had brought, but Earth still seemed to be attracting more than it's fair share of crazy.

Rough was putting it mildly.

**~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~**

The wind could almost be said to sing as it whistled through Steve Rogers' hair. Cars were fine and all, but motorcycles just felt more...free. And they were more comfortable to him than those bulky cars with all their rules and fancy buttons. He had time enough to ride, given that he had no pressing, life-altering event to deal with. Mostly sans S.H.I.E.L.D. and living relatively on the margins had given him plenty of time to take off on his own and explore what the world had become.

Although so far, it lacked anything he felt was comfortable or familiar, and it was hard to adjust. Sure, he could learn things like cell phones, but it was just different...and the music...it was just so...it wasn't right. He wouldn't take a girl dancing to _that_.

_"Move your feet like this...come on.." _

_"This is silly, Buck." Steve shifted side to side uncomfortably as Bucky kept a hand on his waist and their hands locked while he led the dance. Bucky had offered to teach the rather lacking young man._

_"No, silly is what ya'd be if you tried that stumblin' you call dancing." Bucky retorted. _

The sudden memory put a pain in Steve's heart, such things always did. And it didn't help that he kept thinking 'wait till I tell Bucky', everytime he saw something that was actually worth taking notice of. Bucky was all at once, his best friend, comrade, and the closest thing to a brother that he'd ever had. And Steve, who had been cared for by Bucky for almost all of his life, who was so desperate to return the favor and look after his brother-in-arms for a change...had failed. Steve had pulled Bucky from his prisoner's sentence only to see him ripped from a train. And for him, having been asleep so long, the wound was still fresh and the memory vivid. Bucky was gone and he blamed himself, Peggy was gone and beyond his reach, and all that was familiar had been replaced or destroyed in his absence.

The Avengers were an interesting bunch and he considered them all friends. But it was different, they weren't Bucky, and they all had their own lives and battles to fight. They didn't have time for a wayward 'time-traveler'. So without a family, and lacking a real goal, out of place in the new world...he did the only thing he could really think to do, use his powers to help people. Wasn't that what he'd wanted all along? Wasn't that the best way to honor Bucky, Peggy, and Erskine who'd made it all possible for him?

What else could he do?

**~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~**

The Chitauri had been decimated, the portal destroyed, no world had been won and the powers of the Tessaract were in disarray. They had been played fools by that liesmith Loki Laufeyson, and he had been warned of what such failure would bring. There was no place in all the realms that he could hide from the wrath of their leader. No place that could keep him safe from the price of his failures. Loki's pain would not end with death, for there was a dominion that lay between life and death where his true punishment would await. But that would be all in good time.

**~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~**

"That makes six for me." Clint Barton said smugly, only to frown as his partner smirked.

"Nine for me." Natasha Romanoff said with her own brand of calm, collected, and smug.

The roomful of hardened gangsters and thugs who were dealing in black-market goods and drugs had had no chance against them. As it was, Clint and Natasha had made a habit of playing a counting game to see who could get the most each time they fought against a larger group. And generally Natasha won, sometimes by a landslide. Clint's victories were few and far between, and the subject of great amusement on Natasha's confident part.

"I was too busy keeping you in line, that's all."

"Well, thanks for that. But don't worry, I'm a big girl..." Natasha suddenly whirled around and shot a thug who'd been about to shoot Clint, although he had already been prepared to stop it. "I think I can handle it, so feel free to start actually trying." she teased.

Clint gave his approximation of a pout as he took out another two in rapid succession. The near-apocalypse hadn't changed the way that the world worked, and 'regular' crime still ran rampant. But one good thing had come of the near-miss anyway, and that was S.H.I.E.L.D. deciding to enforce Natasha and Clint working as partners again.

After all, someone had to keep the Black Widow out of trouble.

**~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~**

**Jeez, I'm so tired...and I work in so few hours...gahhh...but I was determined. Hopefully it's coherent and not terribly rushed. And the bit of Russian in the beginning means 'Pathetic'. Verbal hugs bring joy to my life! Enjoy!~ Witchy~ **


End file.
